Sources of Moral Theology

Where Do We Get Our

Moral Rules?
Four Sources of Moral Theology

 Scripture
 NaturalLaw
 Experience
 Magisterium
SCRIPTURE

 The Bible has always been the starting point of

Christian morality. It reveals to us Christ whom
we should imitate.
 Scripture, as the revealed Word of God, must
exercise authority on the moral life of Christians.
 However, the rules of morality that we get from
scripture must be grounded in the tradition of the
community, and must also be in harmony with
reason and human nature.
SCRIPTURE

 When we use scripture to make moral

arguments we should be careful not to use
the bible passage out of context.
 We must be careful not to manipulate
scripture to simply justify our own moral
choices or positions.
Examples of wrong uses of scripture in
moral arguments

 “You have heard that it was said, an eye for an

eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do
not resist an evil person. If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other
also.” (Mt 5:38-39).
 Wrong interpretation: We should avoid all
conflicts as much as possible. Even if a wife is
abused by her husband, she should accept it
with humility because that is the way of Christ.
Examples of wrong uses of scripture in
moral arguments

 “You slaves, be submissive to your masters

with all respect, not only to the good and
reasonable ones, but even to the difficult
ones. ” (Peter 2:18).
 Wrong interpretation: Workers should be not
go against their employers even if they are
unjustly treated. They should not form labor
union to oppose management.
SCRIPTURE

 Before using a scripture passage in a moral

argument we must consider the following:
– the literary form
– the audience
– the social and historical context
– the original meaning and purpose of the text
– the relevance to the present situation
 Ask: Is my interpretation and use of this bible
passage consistent with the love of Christ?
Natural Law

 We believe that God created an ordered universe

with a specific purpose.
 God created human beings with enough
intelligence so that they can use their reason to
observe the natural world and make reliable
judgments about God’s purposes and how human
activity may cooperate with God’s plans.
 There is an objective moral order that can be
known by all who use their reason.
Natural Law

 Moral arguments based on natural law can

appeal to people who do not share in the
same belief in God but share in the gift of
reason.
 We can draw general moral norms from
natural law which can be applied to all
persons.
Two ways of interpreting natural law

 Physicalist  Personalist
Approach Approach
THE PHYSICALIST APPROACH

 This approach looks at the world as a finished product

of God’s creation.
 Nature is ordered by God and is unchanging.
 The human person should always follow his/her human
nature and physical structure, which is the same for all
persons.
 Any action that goes against the order and structure of
nature is a violation of God’s design and is thus
immoral, regardless of intention and circumstance.
 The order and structure of nature become the basis for
moral rules..
THE PHYSICALIST APPROACH

 Many of the Church’s teaching on sexual

ethics use the physicalist approach.
 Examples of teachings with a physicalist
approach:
– Contraception
– Homosexual activity
THE PHYSICALIST APPROACH

Example: Contraception
Casti Connubii (Pius XI; Dec. 30, 1930)
#56. . . .any use whatsoever of matrimony
exercised in such a way that the act is
deliberately frustrated in its natural power to
generate life is an offense against the law of
God and of nature.
THE PHYSICALIST APPROACH

Example: Homosexual activity

On the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons
(CDF 1986 )
#7. To choose someone of the same sex for
one's sexual activity is to annul. . . the goals,
of the Creator's sexual design. Homosexual
activity is not a complementary union able to
transmit life.
THE PHYSICALIST APPROACH

 Strength: It recognizes the physical characteristics of

human nature. We cannot do whatever we want with
our bodies. We must respect our bodies.
 Weakness: It considers the physical characteristics
of human nature as the whole meaning of human
nature. It ignores the developmental and relational
aspects of the human person.
THE PERSONALIST APPROACH

 This approach views the world and human persons

as continuously developing.
 It looks at the individual human person in his or her
concrete situation, considering at his or her personal
attributes, needs, goals, desires.
 It pays special attention to the person’s relationship
with others.
 It considers what contributes to or diminishes human
development.
THE PERSONALIST APPROACH

 Many of the Church’s social teachings use

the personalist approach
 Examples of teachings with personalist
approach:
– Just wages
– Death penalty
THE PERSONALIST APPROACH

Example: Just Wages

Gaudium et Spes (Vatican II)
#67. Remuneration for work should guarantee to
individuals the capacity to provide a dignified
livelihood for themselves and their family on the
material, social, cultural and spiritual level
corresponding to their roles and productivity, having
regard to the relevant economic factors in their
employment, and the common good.
THE PERSONALIST APPROACH

Example: Death Penalty

Catechism of the Catholic Church
#2267. If bloodless means are sufficient to defend
human lives against an aggressor and to protect
public order and the safety of persons, public
authority should limit itself to such means, because
they better correspond to the concrete conditions of
the common good and are more in conformity to the
dignity of the human person.
THE PERSONALIST APPROACH

 Strength : It takes a more total approach when

considering the human person; It is not simply
focused on the biological or physical aspect of the
person. It is open to new ways of understanding
what it means to be a human person and how we
can be better persons in community.
 Weakness (perceived by opponents): It may create
doubt about some of the moral absolutes that the
church teaches.
THE TWO APPROACHES

 Both these approaches are operating in the

Church’s moral teaching.
 Sometimes a teaching of the Church would
be supported by both physicalist and
personalist arguments.
 We need to be aware of the strengths and
weaknesses of both approaches
Experience

 New human experiences and changing

social conditions can lead to development
of church teachings.
 Developments in teaching are not random
changes. It is growth in the Church’s insight
into Christ; we grow in understanding what
it means to imitate Christ in our life as a
Church.
Experience

 We try to be consistent with our teachings. But the

consistency we seek is not simply a repetition of
formulas. The consistency that we seek to maintain
is consistency with Christ – we follow where Christ
leads us – toward greater understanding of our
humanity, of our relationship with others, with our
relationship with God.
 There is nothing to fear about changes in church
teaching if we trust that the Spirit of Christ guides
the Church
Experience
 How can teachings change?
Two levels of experiences:
 The experience of those affected by church
norms
 The experience of those formulate church
norms
 If the experience of the affected is translated to the
experience of those who make the rules, there is a
possibility that those who make the rules (the
Vatican) can be moved to revise the norms to help
those affected by it.
Experience

 Examples of teachings that have changed

significantly:
– Usury
– Slavery
Experience

Example: Usury
 The Church forbade the taking of interest for
loans until 1830. The taking of interest was
equated with the grave sin of usury.
 In the pasts, most people who borrowed money
were in great distress and needed money to
survive or recover from their situation. To
charge interest for these kinds of loans was
seen to be greedy and sinful because it
exploited the poor.
Experience

Example: Usury
 The emergence of modern banking in Middle
Ages changed the perception of loans and
helped change the mind of the Church on the
charging of interest on loans.
 People borrowed money not for survival but for
investment and profit-making. Taking
reasonable interest for a loan to be used for
business became acceptable.
 Usury was redefined to refer to the charging of
excessively high interest on loans.
Experience

Example: Slavery
 Since the time of the early Church, slavery had
been accepted as a legitimate practice. The
acceptance of slavery for centuries was
supported by scriptural texts and common
practice in Europe and its colonies.
 Although many Popes did condemned the
excesses of the international slave trade, the
official Magisterium of the Church endorsed the
legitimacy of slavery as late as the end of the
19th century.
Experience

Example: Slavery
 Only after many countries in the world have
begun to stop the practice of slavery and with
the gradual recognition of the equal dignity and
rights of all persons in the 19th century did the
Church turned away from supporting slavery.
 In 1888, Pope Leo III condemns slavery and
supports the anti-slavery movement.
Experience

Example: Slavery
 In 1918, The new Code of Canon Law
promulgated by Pope Benedictus XV
condemns ‘selling any person as a slave’.
(There is no condemnation of ‘owning’ slaves,
however).
 In 1965, The Second Vatican Council defends
basic human rights and denounces all
violations of human integrity, including slavery
(Gaudium et Spes, no 27,29,67).
Experience

 In the two examples of usury and slavery, the

problems of those most affected by the old rules (the
businessmen who needed to borrow money and the
persons treated as slaves) had to be brought to the
attention and understanding of the Magisterium.
 In the case of usury, what helped were theologians
who helped the Church understand the changing
meaning of money and loans until the Church changed
its rules on usury
 In the case of slavery, what helped were church people
who actively campaigned for the end of slavery.
Experience

 Our contribution to the development of teaching:

– Speak for those who are in the margins of
society; make their experience significant to
the community.
– Try to discern what changes would lead to a
closer imitation of Christ and relay these to
those who make the rules.
Magisterium

 The magisterium refers to the hierarchy (pope and

bishops) and their exercise of official teaching
authority in the church. It is an institutionalized
authority on matters of faith and morals.
 The primary responsibility of the magisterium is to
affirm, protect, and promote the apostolic faith and
enable all members of the Church to learn the
values of our Christian tradition so that these
values may be lived out in the present.
Magisterium

 The Magisterium draws from scripture,

natural law, and human experience when it
formulates the church’s moral teachings.

Magisterium

Scripture

Natural law

Experience
Magisterium

 A Catholic is required to give religious

assent to the teaching of the magisterium
(LG 25). Religious assent means “a
submission of the will and the mind to
the authentic teaching authority of the
pope.”
Magisterium

Meaning of Religious Assent:

 A Catholic must make a serious effort to
understand and agree that a teaching taught by
the magisterium is the truth.
 One should strive to personally accept the
teaching and live by it.
 We trust that the Holy Spirit assists the
magisterium in discerning moral truth.
Magisterium

 The magisterium is a primary factor in the

discernment and decision making of a
person’s conscience but there may be
cases when it may not be the decisive
factor.
 We must use prudence in judging whether a
a teaching of the magisterium applies to a
specific moral situation.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 Magisterial statements do not have equal

weight and authority.
 Not every statement is meant for universal
application.
 One must carefully consider the nature of the
statement before interpreting and applying it.
 It is important to make distinctions
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 What kind of teaching is it?

– If it is a universal teaching document like an
encyclical – give it the highest authority and
assent.
– If the statement is meant only for a particular
audience or situation like in a homily, interview, or
speech you do not give it general application
unless otherwise specified.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 Who is speaking? To whom?

– If the pope or a Vatican congregation (e.g., CDF)
speaks to the Universal Church – give religious
assent.
– If the Bishops speaks to the local Church – give
religious assent but recognize that bishops in a
different country may have a different position.
– If a bishop speaks to his local diocese – give
religious assent if you belong to their jurisdiction.
Other dioceses may adopt different interpretations
and applications.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 A single bishop can give general teachings to the

faithful but he can only make specific interpretation
and application of church teaching in his local
jurisdiction. Some church policies may vary from
diocese to diocese.
 A priest can only interpret church teaching in
accordance with his bishop within the bishop’s
jurisdiction. Policies may also vary from parish to
parish.
 When in doubt, ask several experts.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

Disagreeing with a church teaching:

 There is a difference between not agreeing
with what a church teaching says and
agreeing with a church teaching but not
being able to follow it because of obstacles.
 If you believe in the teaching but cannot
follow it, seek pastoral guidance.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 If you do not agree with the teaching itself, you

must be prudent and responsible with your
disagreement.
– make sure you have done everything in your power
to understand and apply the teaching.
– know when to best keep silent or to speak out,
– still respect the teaching authority of the
magisterium.
– dialogue respectfully with the Church.
– contribute to finding a solution.
– accept the consequences of disagreement.
A Prudent Approach
to Magisterial Teachings

 Look at the examples of great men and

women who have contributed to the growth
of the Church by challenging current norms
and practices:
– Francis of Assisi (poverty)
– Ignatius of Loyola (spirituality and mission)
– Teresa of Avila (reform of the Carmelite order)
– John Courtney Murray (religious freedom)
Questions for discussion

 What source of moral theology do you most

refer to when confronted with a moral
problem?
 What do you do if you sincerely disagree
with a church teaching?
 What teachings would you want to develop
further?
The End